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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state the game Season 27 is all about giving players the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.